Reimagining Women's Health: Our Investment in E-Leviate

Women’s health is no longer a fringe category in venture. Those watching the space have seen companies like Alydia Health [acquired by Organon a few years ago] and Elvie [$500M valuation] demonstrate that targeted innovation in women’s health can scale. Platforms like Hologic and CooperSurgical have built huge businesses, each with market caps of $10-20B, focused entirely on gynaecological and reproductive care.

Women’s health is a massive global healthcare opportunity, yet much of this value has been created around fertility and imaging given high margins from the get go. Core chronic conditions like Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP) and Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause (GSM) have seen far less foundational product redesign yet sit in their own billion dollar markets. These solutions have historically been low-margin commodities, but meaningful drug-device platforms used on a chronic condition timescale introduces defensibility, pricing power, and recurring replacement cycles that support venture scale margins.

That is why we are excited to announce Outset’s investment in E-Leviate.

An underserved clinical burden

POP and GSM are not niche conditions. Up to half of those who give birth experience prolapse, and nearly one in five will undergo surgery for it in their lifetime. Almost 50% of postmenopausal women suffer GSM symptoms. And 55% of postmenopausal women struggle with recurrent UTIs. Approximately 20% of cases will escalate to hospitalization with sepsis. Vaginal estrogen is considered standard of care for many of these patients, yet it remains under prescribed and difficult to adhere to due to current dosing regimens.

Despite the scale and severity of these conditions, patients are forced to rely on a fragmented array of removable devices, repeated hormone creams, and surgery. A fit-and- forget six month vaginal ring that introduces structural support with sustained ultra-low dose estrogen delivery meaningfully improves patient outcomes, changing the game for a historically stagnant industry.

Founded by Dr. Prathima Chowdary, E-Leviate is developing this exact novel drug-device combination providing both structural support and therapeutic delivery in a single integrated solution. It delivers continuous oestrogen release while also providing mechanical support for prolapse, embedding therapy directly into the device.

Drug device combinations are complex products, as they require expertise in materials science and pharmacokinetics overlayed onto a hefty regulatory strategy. E-Leviate meets these specs, and their product has already been granted patents across multiple countries including the U.S. and Australia. Dr. Chowdary brings deep clinical and technical experience to this challenge, with both a Masters in engineering and a PhD in therapeutics to show for it.

She’s spent more than a decade treating women with complex gynaecological conditions; and through working closely with patients navigating current treatment limitations, she designed a durable solution.

E-Leviate sits at the intersection of deep technology and a clearly defined clinical need with a large market associated with it. The platform combines defensible intellectual property with a founder who understands both the science and the patient journey.

Women’s health is being increasingly recognized as a significant opportunity. As more capital and attention flow into the sector, companies that triangulate, rigorous science, thoughtful product design, and strategic navigation of regulatory pathways, will sit amongst the handful of companies that will dominate the next generation of care.

Outset is proud to back Dr. Prathima Chowdary and the E-Leviate team on their journey.